Remnants: A Story from the World of RWBY
by LostUpInTheClouds
Summary: A young hunstman working as a bodyguard. An assassin with a secret past. A disgraced soldier fighting against the system. And a young girl who ran away from home. Three months after the Fall of Beacon, four misfits, with little in common, discover that, even in a world that seems to be falling around them, they're never truly alone.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Medwater was a lot quieter than it used to be, especially at night. Ever since the Fall of Beacon, the vast majority of the small fishing town's population stayed indoors after the streetlights switched on. No one felt safe anymore, and it wasn't just the Creatures of Grimm. Seeing an institution as big as Beacon Academy collapse in the way it did had given the town's more unwelcoming residents some extra confidence…

"So, what do we have here?" The tall man's breath was thick with the smell of whiskey as he towered over the young girl. "You must be a long way from home, little girl."

The girl shrank in on herself.

"Who are you…?"

"I'm just a guy looking to make some money." The man smiled threateningly. "And you look like you've got plenty to share." What would he take first? There must be lien in her bag. Hell, the bag itself looked expensive enough that it would make plenty if he sold it… And that's discounting whatever else she had in there. The blue dress she was wearing looked expensive too, although it was going to need a heavy clean to be worth selling, and she had plenty of jewellery to pick from. He'd hit the jackpot.

"Please… Just let me go…"

"I could… But I think I'll have a look through here first!" He lunged at her bag, pulling it off her arm. There was a purse, with about 200 lien, and a scroll with a large chip out of one corner. Honestly, he was hoping for more. He threw the bag on the ground and grabbed the girl's arm. "Come on, you gotta have something more…"

"Let go of me!" She tried to tug her arm away, but the man was stronger.

"Oh, don't make this difficu—" The man was cut off as the girl sunk her teeth into his arm. "Gah!" He roared in pain as he pulled her mouth away and swung his fist at her, sending her stumbling back as the punch connected.

She tripped over the hem of her dress, and collapsed into the mud.

"Please…" she croaked.

"You shouldn't have bit me, girlie…" the man grunted as he bent down to grab her collar. "You're gonna give me everything you've got, or I'm going to make you pay for it, got it…" He trailed off as he felt a tap on his shoulder. "Piss off…" He turned around to see a tall young man, dressed in black apart from his long green coat, with shoulder-length hair, tied loosely behind his head, and dark green eyes.

"I'm gonna give you five seconds to let go of her."

"Or what?" the man laughed.

The green-eyed boy smiled as he pulled a pistol, with a large blade sticking out of the bottom, from behind his back. "You really don't want to find out…"

The man sighed and let go of the girl's dress. "Fine…" He stepped away from her and started walking away.

To the green-eyed boy, everything looked normal, but through the girl's eyes, something wasn't right. A haze of colour started to form around her attacker's body, moving towards his arm.

"Look out!" she shouted as the man began to turn around. The green-eyed boy stepped to the side as the man charged towards him, a ball of fire encasing his fist. He stuck his leg out, tripping the man up, sending him flying face-first into the mud.

The boy crouched down next to him and held the blade of his gun against the man's throat. "Now. You are going to go and turn yourself into the police. I think the station is just down the road. And if I ever see you again, you're going to lose a hand. Okay?"

The man nodded as he wiped mud from his face.

"Well, go on then." He pulled his weapon away and stood up. "Some people…"

The man scrambled away as the boy holstered his weapon and walked over to the girl.

"I… Thank you… Thank you for helping me," she said with tears in her eyes.

"You should stop crying. We're too close to the edge of town to risk Grimm picking up on it…" The boy held out his hand to help the girl up. "What's your name?"

"Diamond…" the girl whispered as he pulled her up. "Who are you?"

"Silas Verde," the boy said. "I was just passing through. You looked like you needed some help."

"Are… Are you a huntsman?"

"Yeah, I guess I am," Silas laughed. "Where are you staying?" he asked. "He's not the only bad guy wandering around this time of night. I want to make sure you get somewhere safe."

"I… I'm staying in an inn on the other side of town… Riverside Inn?" Diamond said.

"Yeah, I know the place. Bet the bastard's charging you twice what the room's worth, too…" Silas grunted. "Let's go, then…"

Silas sighed and started walking along the street.

"Oh… Okay…" Diamond shook herself off and started following after him.

"So, where'd you come from? In the nicest way possible, you don't exactly dress like a local," Silas asked as they walked.

"I… I'm from Vale," Diamond said.

"Vale, huh…" Silas sighed. "Tough break. How are things going back there?"

"Slowly, unfortunately," Diamond replied. "There was a lot of damage, especially in the outer edges of the city. And everyone's still so shaken by all of it… The huntsmen and huntresses are working constantly just to keep the Grimm out…"

"Sounds bad… So, what're you doing so far from home?"

"I…" Diamond stopped. "It's a long story…"

"Yeah? Me too…" Silas mumbled. "So, how did you get here from Vale?"

"I walked," Diamond said.

Silas stopped. "You walked, on foot, from Vale?"

"Well, just outside the main city, technically. About a mile from the city gate."

"A mile outside the city, huh…" Silas knew it sounded familiar, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why. Was part of Signal Academy out there? "Thanks for the heads up back there, by the way."

"Pardon?"

"When that guy came at me with his semblance. You warned me," Silas explained. "Thanks."

"Oh…" Diamond said quietly. "Um… You're welcome."

Silas pulled out his scroll and typed out a message. "I hadn't even noticed he was doing anything. I'm lucky you did."

"I… I suppose I'm good at noticing these things."

"Yeah, I guess you are…" Silas looked around. It took a moment before he noticed that Diamond had stopped moving altogether. "Everything alright?" he called back to her.

"There… There's someone there…" Diamond pointed at the air. Silas couldn't see anything she could have been pointing at, but Diamond could see a faint shimmering field about five meters in front of them. "Who are you?" She looked to Silas, expecting him to bring out his weapon, but instead he was just standing there, with a serious look on his face.

"So, I was right…" he said to himself. "Alright, Wing, you can come out now."

The air in front of Diamond shifted as a person appeared, seemingly out of thin air. She was short, even shorter than Diamond, and had long black hair, tied behind her head with a ribbon. She was dressed in grey, with two armguards, and two short blades tucked into her belt. As she walked over to Silas, Diamond noticed a strange outline to her back, like there was something under her clothes.

"Find anything?" Silas asked.

"Not yet," Wing said. "Though apparently, you did…" She glanced over at Diamond.

"She was getting mugged. I helped out, said I'd walk her back to her inn," Silas explained. "Although, I think I want to ask her a few questions first…"

"Um, questions?" Diamond interrupted. "Questions about what?"

"Your semblance, of course," Silas said. "Like, you're not old enough for an academy, and it's clear you never went to a combat school, so… How is it you know how to use it in the first place?"

"I… I don't know what you mean…" Diamond said. "I… What semblance?"

"You can see Aura, can't you?" Silas said.

"I mean… I can, but…" Diamond trailed off. "That's my semblance?"

"You mean you didn't know?"

"I… I've just always been able to do it… All I really did was train myself to turn it on and off."

"Seriously?" Wing moved closer to Diamond and studied her closely. "Most people take months, even years of training just to work out what their semblance is. It took days of concentration to be able to keep myself hidden like I can, and Silas here…"

"That's besides the point," Silas interjected. "The point is… What does that have to do with you being here in Medwater?"

Diamond shrank in on herself. "I… I'm…" She swallowed. "I'm trying to get to Coquina."

"In Vacuo?" Wing asked. "You're not heading for the school, are you?"

"What? No, that's not it…" Diamond shook her head. "I… I'm looking for someone."

"Who?" Wing pushed.

"That doesn't matter," Silas said. "Say, kid, how'd you like a chaperone there?"

Wing pulled Silas aside. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting us some work."

"In Vacuo? That's a long journey for us to make, especially with how dangerous air travel is now," Wing argued. "And besides, we do have a job here. I don't really want to be the ones to piss off Le Coeur…"

"Le Coeur can find other bodyguards," Silas said. "This seems more interesting."

"We can't uproot ourselves to go running around across Sanus just because you're bored…"

"And because she's weird. She can see Aura. That's a big deal," Silas argued. "I think _she_'ll. Find it particularly interesting."

"True…" Wing crossed her arms and sighed. "Fine, fine. I guess you're the boss."

"Now you're getting the idea." Silas smiled as he turned back to Diamond. "Hey, kid, you were listening in, right?"

"I… Uh… Yes…" Diamond stuttered.

"So, how about it?" Silas asked. "Coquina's a long way. It's a miracle you've gotten this far on your own. Do you really wanna be taking your chances with the desert?"

"How…. How much would you charge?"

"How much have you got?"

"I… I only have 200 lien… I know it isn't much, but…"

"I'll take it," Silas said. "Half now and half when we arrive."

"Really?" Wing questioned.

"It's all she's got. Besides, we can always do some scavenging on the way, see if we can't find something worth selling," Silas said. "So, have we got a deal?"

Diamond pulled a 100 lien piece from her bag and looked at it. It was all she'd managed to bring with her, all she'd managed to hide from her father, but… it wouldn't matter if a Creature of Grimm, or even a man like earlier, killed her before she made it to Vacuo. She held out the card towards Silas.

"Yes, we have."


	2. Chapter 2

"Where are we going again?" Diamond asked as she trailed behind Silas and Wing.

"Our house," Wing said. "For some reason…"

"She can't exactly go to Riverside. They'll charge her a fortune," Silas said. "I mean, we can't have her spending the other half of our pay before we even set out."

"I can think of _at least _three solutions that are better than taking her home," Wing said. "She's a kid, we can't be responsible for her."

"She can't be that much younger than either of us…" Silas turned to Diamond. "How old are you, kid?"

"Um… Sixteen… Seventeen in a few weeks…" Diamond said.

"See, she's only a few years younger," Silas said. "It'll be fine. It's only be a couple of days anyway. I want to get going as soon as possible."

Wing sighed. "She's your problem…"

"Well, I've already got you. One more problem can't hurt me."

Wing proved Silas wrong with a sharp punch to the arm.

Silas and Wing had spent the last few months sharing a house on the outskirts of a run-down area of Medwater, sandwiched between what was generally considered the roughest bar in the town and a retired huntsman who complained when they got in too late. It was small; two bedrooms, a small living room, a kitchen, and a small bathroom, which only had a shower. It was cleaner than Diamond expected.

"Are you sure it's alright for me to stay here…" she asked quietly as she followed Silas into the main hall. "I wouldn't want to put you out…"

"Kid, you've walked here from Vale, on your own, and, in the nicest way possible, you look like you haven't slept properly in… a while…" Silas said. "Just take what we're offering."

"Where is she even going to sleep?" Wing asked.

"She can take my bed," Silas said. "I can always take the couch. Unless you wanna invite me into yours again?" He flinched as a knife shot past his head, lodging itself into the wall. "Or not…"

"How about not?" Wing hissed as she walked past him and pulled the knife out of the wall. "That was one time…"

"I don't need a proper bed, I promise," Diamond said. "I mean, even the couch is better than what I _have_ been sleeping on, so…"

"No, it's fine," Silas sighed. "My room's the first one on the right, top of the stairs. Bathroom's opposite. Feel free to take a shower."

"I'll find you something clean to sleep in," Wing said.

"Why are you both being so nice to me…?" Diamond asked.

"Because you're paying us to take you to Vacuo, and you're going to be a lot easier to escort if you're not sleep-deprived," Silas shrugged. "And, again, we can't have you spending the rest of our pay on an inn."

"Well, I appreciate it, nonetheless," Diamond said. "Thank you."

"Just doing my job," Silas said. "I'll go and make sure there's clean sheets for you," he quickly added, rushing away up the stairs before Diamond could see the slight smile on his face.

"I think we need this," Wing sighed as she handed Silas a slightly warm can of beer. He was sat on the doorstep, looking out at the street. The sounds of smashing glass and cheering drunks floating down from the bar.

"Thanks," Silas said. "So, how's the kid?"

"In bed. I can't believe you made me give her clothes…"

"So she's settled alright?"

"As much as she can be," Wing said as she sat down next to him. "Alright then, spill. Why are you doing this?"

"It's a job, we're getting paid," Silas said.

"You know that's not what I mean. You've just agreed to uproot yourself – both of us, actually, thanks for asking – and go halfway across the continent for what? Some girl?"

"I told you. It's about her semblance," Silas said.

"Oh, please," Wing laughed. "If that was all you cared about here, you'd have gotten the doc to come here, not escort her to Vacuo yourself," she said. "There's more…"

"That's all it is, I swear!"

"Come on, Silas. I know you better than anyone else here. Don't lie to me," Wing pleaded. "What's this really about?"

Silas stifled a laugh. "It's stupid, really…"

"Of course it is. It's you," Wing said. "Tell me."

"I didn't help her with that guy for any real reason. I just saw it and figured I should help," Silas said. "But everything else… I dunno, when I started talking to her, she… she kinda started reminding me of Lydia…"

"She's not Lydia," Wing said.

"I know, I know. Honestly, I don't know what it is," Silas admitted. "I just… She walked here, from Vale, with no help, with no one at all, and I just…" He took a gulp of his beer and stared at the sky. "I just wanted to help her."

"You know, I don't get you sometimes," Wing sighed. "I didn't grow up wanting to be a huntress, even less a hero. I'm where I am now because I had to learn to fight, to look out for myself. It's been that way for so long. I… I've never really 'just wanted' to help someone…"

"Listen, if you want to stay behind, I'm not going to—"

"I didn't say that," Wing cut him off. "I may not get why you care about this so much, but you're my partner. I'm with you. Even if I think this is a stupid idea…"

"Thanks." Silas laughed.

"Although, if we're going to do this, I think we'd better find more help," Wing said. "I'm tough, but I'm not trained to fight monsters. We need someone with more brute strength."

"And that's not all we've gotta prepare," Silas said. "We're going to need food, probably a few other supplies. Vacuo's a long way, and we've got to prepare for the possibility that we're going to have to walk the whole way."

"You don't think we'll be able to find an airship?"

"We might, but probably not all the way, and that's if we're lucky," Silas said. "Transport between the kingdoms isn't easy right now. Not many pilots want to be travelling without being able to pull information from the CCT."

"This isn't going to be much fun, is it?"

Silas finished his drink and stood up. "Oh, I don't know. I've got a feeling this could be interesting…"

"I hate you, you know," Wing said as she pushed herself to her feet.

"I know," Silas smiled.

"Asshole…" Wing muttered under her breath as they walked into the house.

Diamond stared at the ceiling of the strange room, in the strange house, in the strange town she had found herself in, struggling to work out how she was supposed to get to sleep. Even the clothes she had been lent felt strange on her; they were close to the right size, but certainly not perfect, and the material was different to anything she wore in Vale.

Not that it was unpleasant, not exactly. She hadn't slept in a proper bed in days, so anything was better, and while she wasn't convinced the clean sheets were exactly clean, she was very grateful to Silas and Wing for taking her in. That far from the kingdoms, especially somewhere as run down as Medwater, it was difficult to find people willing to go out of their way to help, not for free. Yes, she was paying the two of them to escort her, but something about Silas made Diamond think he wasn't just using her for money. Although, she was so used to people using her that it was hard to tell anymore…

Diamond's train of thought was cut off by a light knock on the door.

"Come in…" she said quietly as she sat up

Silas pushed the door open and stood in the doorway.

"Me and Wing are heading to bed. We've locked the front door. I'd keep the windows closed unless you want to hear drunk assholes shouting all night. And if you hear a scream, it's probably just the guy next door having a nightmare. He's fine, don't worry about it. He's just been through a lot," he explained. "Okay?"

Diamond stared blankly. "Okay…"

"Cool." Silas loitered for a moment, before quickly closing the door and walking away.

Diamond slid back down into the bed and closed her eyes.

When Diamond woke up the next morning, it took her a moment to remember where she was. Her dress was laying on the chair, looking clean for the first time since she'd left. Her bag was still there, it didn't look like it had been touched.

She climbed out of the bed and looked around the room. She had been so tired the night before, so exhausted by everything that had happened, that she hadn't stopped to think about the room she was in.

Silas' bedroom was plainly decorated. There wasn't a lot in the way of personal effects; a chest of drawers sat in one corner, with some clothes hastily pushed into them. There was a small desk, with a beat-up briefcase with a Schnee Dust Company logo laying locked on it. Its contents were obvious, although she had a feeling it hadn't been obtained entirely legitimately. The only other thing on the desk was a small framed photo. She recognised Silas immediately, although he looked a few years younger, and his hair was shorter. Alongside him were three others, a similar age; a tall, muscular boy with a wide smile, a short-haired girl, about Silas' height, whose smile was slight, but had a warmth to it, and a shorter girl, with a long ponytail. She was smiling nervously, and was standing close to Silas, holding onto his arm. There was something familiar about the background, but too much was covered up for her to put her finger on it.

"Good morning."

Diamond quickly put the photo down when she heard Wing's voice.

"Sorry, I was just…"

"It's fine," Wing said. "He's the one who left it out."

"Who are they?"

"Do you want breakfast?" Wing said, changing the subject.

"I… Yes, please," she said. A part of her wanted to ask about the photo again, but Wing's face told her it was better not to.

When Diamond got downstairs, Silas was sitting at the table, with a pile of toast in front of him.

"Morning," he said. "Sleep alright?"

"Wonderfully, thank you," Diamond said. "I haven't slept that well in… I'm not sure, actually."

"Good." Silas picked up a piece of toast and took a bite. "Go ahead, eat. I made enough for everyone."

"Thank you…"

"So, I've started thinking about this trip," Silas said as Diamond started eating. "I'm not having much luck finding transport, that's gonna take a couple more days. I'd get ready to cross the desert."

"Okay," Diamond said between mouthfuls.

"I also think we're gonna need more muscle, much as I hate to split the money," Silas said. "I think I know a guy."

"Oh yeah," Wing said as she walked in and picked up a piece of toast. "Who do you know that would work for that kind of money?"

Silas looked at Wing with a mixture of genuine and mock guilt. Wing's face fell.

"Oh, no. No, no, no. Silas we can_not_ work with him again. He's not reliable."

"He's plenty reliable."

"Don't you remember last time?"

"Oh, I remember. That's why he's our best shot. He still owes me for that…"

"Is he even still here?" Wing asked. "Last I heard, he'd skipped town?"

"He had," Silas said. "Just got back a couple of days ago. Heard it from one of Le Couer's guys. He's been hanging around the bars."

"You think you can find him?"

"Of course," Silas said. "We'll go find him tonight."

"Who?" Diamond asked.

Silas smiled. "Our muscle."

Diamond spent most of the day loitering around the house. Silas and Wing said they had another job to work on, and to pick up some supplies for the trip. Diamond offered to do the shopping for them, but Silas decided it was safer for her to stay at home. She did some cleaning, although there wasn't much to do, and spent the rest of her time watching the news on the small television that sat crammed into a corner of the main room.

By the time Silas and Wing returned, it was starting to get dark, and, after a rushed meal, Silas hurried them all back out of the door.

They arrived at a large, rowdy bar on the other side of town. The place had a high ceiling, with at least one large crack in it. The walls were cracked too, and the floor, while seemingly intact, was significantly sticker than Diamond had expected.

"Why here?" she asked as they pushed through the crowds of people towards the bar. "It looks…"

"Shady?" Wing said. "It is. This is where most people pick up work that's a little… unusual. Bodyguards, smugglers, even Huntsmen end up here sometimes."

"Hopefully, the guy we're looking for is around here…" Silas said, peering over the crowds on his toes. "There you are…" He dropped down. "You two find a table," he said. "This shouldn't take long."

Silas left them, and walked over to the bar, taking a seat next to a young man, a couple of years older than him. He had short, black hair, and his armour was instantly recognisable as the armour of the Atlas Military, although more or it was scuffed and scratched than not. The Atlesian insignia had been spray-painted over with a dark blue feather.

"Don't normally see you here," the man said. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were looking for someone." He turned to face Silas. "But I know you're not that stupid, are you, Silas?"

"I think Wing might fight you on that one," Silas laughed. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Rex?"


End file.
